“To Be Loved By You“
Wynonna
Written by Gary Burr and Mike Reid
Billboard
#1 (1 week)
April 6, 1996
Radio & Records
#1 (1 week)
March 22, 1996
Wynonna’s most recent No. 1 single tops both charts.
The Road to No. 1
After “Only Love” went No. 1, Tell Me Why produced three more hit singles: the top ten “Is it Over Yet,” the top five “Rock Bottom,” and the top ten “Girls With Guitars.” Wynonna then took a hiatus to give birth to her first child. She returned in 1996 with “To Be Loved By You,” the lead single from her third solo album, revelations.
The No. 1
Wynonna’s third solo album is moody and atmospheric, reflecting her contemplative state of mind when recording it.
“To Be Loved By You” represents the album well. It’s a beautiful ballad of undying love and commitment, and features an understated vocal from the powerful singer.
It sets the tone perfectly for revelations, which turns her focus inward and doesn’t engage with the country radio trends of the day. It’s a testament to her star power that one of the singles from the album got to No. 1, though radio unfortunately did not stay on board for the duration of the album cycle.
The Road From No. 1
After “To Be Loved By You,” MCA released “Heaven Help My Heart,” a Tina Arena cover that went top fifteen. The next two singles, “My Angel is Here” and “Somebody to Love You,” both missed the top forty, and Wynonna exited the MCA label. Her next release, The Other Side, went gold and produced the top fifteen hits “When Love Starts Talkin'” and “Come Some Rainy Day.” Her fifth album, New Day Dawning, produced the top forty hit, “Can’t Nobody Love You Like I Do,” and featured a bonus CD featuring four tracks from the Judds.
Her 2003 album, What the World Needs Now is Love, went to No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart and produced her most recent top twenty hit, “What the World Needs,” as well as a dance club hit with “I Want to Know What Love is.” Wynonna has continued to record and tour, most recently with the Big Noise. As a member of the Judds, Wynonna was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2022.
“To Be Loved By You” gets a B+.
Every No. 1 Single of the Nineties
Previous: Patty Loveless, “You Can Feel Bad” |
Great song! I never understood why Heaven Help My Heart wasn’t a bigger hit!. I remember it being played all the time in the summer of 96 here in Virginia.
great song. Gary Burr often sang it at his Bluebird shows. Love Wynonna’s take on it.
I’ll be honest, I’m pretty sure I was far more exposed to this song in an adult contemporary setting than country, so I’m a little surprised this went #1 in country (and only #25 in AC). Good song, just hadn’t expected it in this feature.
Ever since Naomi’s death, I’ve really only had ears for The Judds for the first 2 weeks. Then I moved to Wynonna solo albums. It’s like I’ve rediscovered her. I’ve always liked her, but The Judds has always been my general preference. I have a whole new appreciation for her and for her music now. I think her albums after her first two, which are great, are underrated.
Such a gorgeous song! I absolutely love the soothing, laid back arrangement, along with it’s beautiful melody and Wynonna’s understated, heartfelt performance. While it’s a 1996 hit, it reminds me of something that could’ve gone on her first solo album back in 1992. Definitely one of my favorite singles of hers from the 90’s. I just miss being able to hear stuff like this on the radio so much! Btw, not only is it another great Gary Burr song, but it’s nice to see Mike Reid’s name popping up here again, as well.
I remember hearing and enjoying this song when it first came out, but my best memory of this song is a little later in the summer of 1996 when my parents and I took a trip up to Maine. I believe we were in upstate New York when we heard this song on the radio. My step dad had gone onto a scenic route on a two lane road and both him and my mom were quietly enjoying the beautiful scenery of the green hills of Upstate NY while I was in the backseat also enjoying the view as well as this song. This was one of those rare times in which neither one of them were talking over the music very much, and instead, if for just a little while, we were simply enjoying our surroundings, our vacation, and just being in the moment. And this song just really fit that one moment so well. :)
Like Leeann, I also generally prefer The Judds’ music, but I’ve also come to appreciate a lot of Wynonna’s solo music in more recent years. I personally think “Come Some Rainy Day” is one of her best and most underrated singles. It’s simply beautiful, and it brings back great memories of my 6th grade year and hearing it on Chris Charles’ Weekly Country Music Countdown every Saturday night in my bedroom in early 1998. “When Love Starts Talkin'” stood out for me in 1997 as being the second new song I heard that year that told us to shut up, along with Chely Wright’s “Shut Up And Drive.” Guess Mary Chapin Carpenter really started something! lol
When Love Starts Talkin’ always sounds like it could’ve been a Judds song to me.
Three consecutive number ones from female artists? How glorious.
I had forgotten about this beautiful gem. Like so many of the women dominating country music with their creativity, vision, and talents in the late nineties, Wynonna was too big a musical wonder, and personality, for mainstream country to contain.